ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- Republican presidential contender Donald Trump played down expectations for the first GOP debate slated for Thursday, saying “I’m not a debater” and he would not be "throwing punches" against his opponents on the stage.

“These politicians, I always say, are all talk no action. They debate all the time," Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on This Week Sunday. “I don’t debate, I build. I've created tremendous jobs, I've created a great company.”

“Maybe my whole life is a debate in a way, but the fact is I’m not a debater, and they are,” Trump added. “With that being said, I look forward to it, we’ll see what happens.”

The current 2016 GOP frontrunner went on to say that he doesn't anticipate attacking his opponents on the stage, saying that every attack he's made on the campaign trail has been a counterattack.

"I don't think I"m going to be throwing punches," he said. "I'm not looking to attack."

The real estate mogul is currently in first place in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. A Quinnipiac poll out this week shows Trump with 20 percent support. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker follows with 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has 10 percent.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Sunday that the criteria for the first Republican debate this week, which will limit participation to the Top 10 GOP candidates according to recent national polls, are “arbitrary.”

“These national polls are irrelevant,” Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania who ran for president in 2012, said on ABC's This Week. “I was at 1 percent in the national polls four years ago and ended up winning 11 states, four million votes, won the Iowa caucus.”

Santorum is polling low nationally and is not expected to gain entry to the first Republican debate on Thursday, according to an ABC News analysis.

RNC Chair Reince Priebus responded to criticism from Santorum and others by saying he was grateful that the first two debates would include all the candidates, even if the ones polling lower would be featured in a lower-profile forum earlier in the evening.

“We’re proud of the fact that everyone running is going to have an opportunity,” Priebus said on “This Week” Sunday. “And the reality is, and it might be a little harsh, but you can’t necessarily treat someone that’s polling at 18 or 20 percent the same as someone that’s polling at a half a percent or 1 percent.”

But Santorum argued low national poll numbers are not indicative of who might surge at the right time and win primaries and caucuses in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. He said the Republican National Committee has erred in agreeing with television networks that national polls should determine participation.

“National polls mean nothing,” he said. “It’s just an arbitrary figure. And unfortunately the networks and the RNC have gone along with this irrelevant legitimacy of candidacy and then have the ability to influence who is in the top ten by the amount of coverage they get and the amount of advertising dollars.”

The two attended several functions, including a barbecue for veterans, a house party, an outdoor concert and a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

McCain is still revered by many New Hampshire Republicans, and Graham tried to tap into that enthusiasm as they took questions together. Several questions were addressed directly to McCain –- not the current presidential candidate standing right next to him.

This isn't the first time these senators have had each other's backs. Graham stumped for McCain in 2008, along with Joe Lieberman. Together, they were known as the "three amigos." This weekend, McCain returned the favor.

“Great experiences in my life have been in New Hampshire,” said McCain, who surprised many by winning the 2000 and 2008 primaries. “If you’ve been impressed today, as I hope you have been, by this candidate, then I want you to do me one favor. Tell your friends, “go see Lindsey Graham.”

Each had harsh words for President Obama’s foreign policy, and took turns criticizing Hillary Clinton.

Graham, though, wouldn’t use the former Secretary of State’s name, calling Clinton only “her.”

Graham fielded several hostile questions, including a young man who called Edward Snowden a hero. To one attendee who criticized the alliance between the U.S. and Israel, Graham said “I’m the worst possible choice for you. You don’t want to vote for me.”

He also poked fun at his recent clash with Donald Trump, who revealed Graham’s cellphone number. To a question about Chinese hacking practices, he quipped, “I had the only cellphone in America they couldn’t hack into. And Donald Trump blew that."

The two walked off stage to McCain’s favorite campaign song: ABBA’s "Take A Chance on Me."Of course, McCain never had to overcome odds like this. Graham is looking up at over a dozen GOP candidates in the polls in the lead-up to Monday’s “Voters First” forum in New Hampshire –- the last chance for candidates to make their marks before the field is set for the first official debate on Thursday.

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- It was the week Scotland had something in common with Iowa and New Hampshire, red trucker hats became the new sweater vest, and the GOP 2016 field now stands at a lucky number 17. Plus, a Friday Clinton document dump for the ages.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the stories the ABC News political team will be tracking in the week ahead:

FIGHT NIGHT

Thursday is the first presidential debate. It's another marker that the 2016 campaign is in full swing. All eyes will be on Donald Trump and the target on his back. It's the candidates who made it to the Top 10, but need the exposure who will likely be going after Trump. Others -- Jeb Bush and Scott Walker -- may try to ignore the very hard to ignore Trump. They will weigh being the “adult in the room” over taking down The Donald. Of course, not everyone will be on that stage. Of the 17 GOP candidates, only 10 will make the cut to get a podium in Cleveland. Fox News has said they will determine the debate participants by averaging five recent national polls released before Tuesday at 5pm. What they aren’t saying? Which polls they are using. Our ABC News analysis shows it’s a death match for the final podium between Rick Perry and John Kasich. Those who don’t make the cut will be invited to a forum at 5 p.m., also on Fox, but of course that’s just a consolation prize.

THE PRE-SHOW

Limiting the candidates to just the Top 10 has ruffled some feathers and not just with the candidates that won’t make the cut. In response to the way both media organizations and the RNC are deciding who will be on the debate stage, New Hampshire’s Union Leader said they wanted to do it differently and at the same time get a piece of the action. On Monday the newspaper will host the Voters First Presidential Forum where all the candidates were invited to participate. Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore will be no shows, but the rest of the Republican field is expected to attend. Trump said he doesn’t feel the need to participate since the paper is unlikely to endorse the billionaire businessman and reality TV star. Don’t call it a debate, instead candidates will be questioned individually from a moderator. There may be a First in the Nation focus, but it will also be broadcast on C-SPAN.

THE MORNING AFTER

The day after the debate, the fun continues at the "RedState Gathering" in Atlanta. It’s talk radio show host Erick Erickson’s two-day conservative confab and 10 of the GOP contenders are expected to take the stage. Much of the talk could be about who won or lost on Thursday and you could see the winner take a victory lap, while losers may try to make up for whatever they left in Cleveland. And for some extra fun Donald Trump isn’t just addressing the 700 attendees, he will mingle with the crowd at the “Red State Tailgate” at the College Football Hall of Fame Saturday night.

THE KOCH PRIMARY

Several of the Republican candidates including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, and Carly Fiorina will stop by Charles and David Koch’s Freedom Partners’ annual summer conference kicking off this weekend. They are there to woo, not just the Kochs, but other wealthy donors who will attend the conference in Southern California. It’s an opportunity for the candidates to pitch these big money donors directly while they attend sessions on conservative policy among other topics. In a world where super PACs rule, locking in megadonors is essential for a winning campaign and the conference is likely to be full of them, or at least their advisers.

CLINTON GOES WEST

Days after a massive Friday document dump, Hillary Clinton will head to California for a fundraising swing. One of the more interesting on the schedule happens Thursday where she will attend a $2,700 per person event at the home of Scooter Braun, manager of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. But she'll need the money: election filings from late Friday night show that Jeb Bush's Super PAC raked in $103 million - more than five times Clinton's Super PAC total of about $20 million. Friday also brought document releases about her health, taxes, and all those State Department emails. A doctor's note says that Clinton was "fit to serve as President" and does not have any lasting effects from her concussion in 2012. Still, there are enough documents to ensure reporters will still be combing through come next week.

ABC affiliate KVUE-TV in Austin reports that a grand jury indicted the state attorney general and the charges will be unsealed on Monday. A Tarrant County judge was appointed to preside over the case, KVUE adds.

It was not immediately clear what Paxton was indicted for.

Sworn in this year as Texas attorney general, Paxton's alleged misconduct reportedly occurred while he served in the state legislature.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Vice President Joe Biden's political operation has entered a more active phase in recent days, with several moves being contemplated to clear the way for him to run for president should he choose to do so, two longtime Biden advisers tell ABC News.

The vice president himself has not authorized any specific moves, but nor has he objected, a signal Biden confidantes take as suggesting he's serious about potentially challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

"He's not saying no," one adviser said. "This is his time to figure it out."

Among the potential moves are efforts to restart a moribund fundraising operation, launch a new political action committee, and find a way to channel the energies of a "Draft Biden" movement that's now not being led by Biden insiders.

One adviser said the new actions would roll out over the next 30 to 45 days, roughly tracking Biden's statement that he would decide on running by the end of the summer.

On Saturday, New York Times opinion columnist Maureen Dowd reported that Biden has been "talking to friends, family and donors about jumping in."

"The 72-year-old vice president has been having meetings at his Washington residence to explore the idea of taking on Hillary in Iowa and New Hampshire," Dowd wrote.

On May 30, Biden’s son, Beau, died of brain cancer at the age of 46, ushering in a period of mourning for the vice president and his family.

"As the Biden family continues to go through this difficult time, the Vice President is focused on his family and immersed in his work,” Kendra Barkoff a spokeswoman for Biden said in a statement when asked for a response to The Times' reporting. "In recent weeks, the Vice President has worked on the nuclear deal with Iran, traveled across the country to highlight the Administration's economic priorities, and more."

Dick Harpootlian, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party who has been outspoken in his wish for Biden to run, told ABC that Biden's family seems more supportive than not of a run.

Harpootlian said that while he has not had a direct conversation about running with the vice president or his formal advisers, the pace of political operations is picking up.

"This isn't some snap decision. He really is weighing how this would impact his family. How crazy is that?" he said.

The vice president and his team know they need to move fairly quickly if he's going to run against Clinton, Harpootlian said.

"My sense around the country is there's tremendous support there. He's got to gauge that. And then he's got to do a gut check," he said.

In the most recent ABC News-Washington Post poll released July 20, Clinton stood at the head of the Democratic pack with the backing of 63 percent of registered Democrats compared to 14 percent for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and 12 percent for Biden.

However, the poll also found that less than half -- 42 percent -- of Clinton’s supporters describe themselves as "very enthusiastic." Seventy-two percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they are satisfied with their choice of candidates, potentially leaving some wiggle room for Biden.

When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos interviewed Biden on Good Morning America in January, he said "there's a chance" that he would challenge Clinton, but added, "I don’t think I have to make up my mind until the summer."

In the interview he said he considered the presidential contest "wide open on both sides."

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- The 2016 Republican primary is on course to become the most crowded in modern presidential history.

The GOP now has 17 major contenders for the nomination -- former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore announced on Wednesday -- breaking the record previously held by the 16 candidates who sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1972.

Counting presidential contenders isn't an exact science, however. There are hundreds of candidates each election cycle that run for president. And the term "major" is, of course, subjective.

But it's clear that 2016 is shaping up to be a record-setting election cycle. To understand why, it's important to know a little history about the presidential nominating process.

According to Sidney Milkis, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia and the Miller Center, the 1948 Republican primary holds the record for the most candidates, 15, vying for the presidential nomination before the modern primary system was established. (Ultimately, the GOP nomination went to New York Gov. Thomas Dewey who lost to Harry Truman).

But something happened in 1968 to change everything.

The chaos of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago spurred a restructuring of rules and regulations that made the selection process more democratic, opting for caucuses and primaries instead of concentrating power in party leaders.

This shift in selection helped break down some of the traditional barriers to entry for potential presidential contenders.

Bruce Schulman, the chair of the history department at Boston University, told ABC News that the 2016 cycle may be the "height of officially declared candidates." That's because we now have a campaign finance system that requires candidates to declare their candidacy, Schulman says.

While the formal declaration of candidacy helps explain the record-setting size of the 2016 GOP pool, there are a variety of other developments that make this year's race ripe for competition.

One of them, Milkis says, is the ability of corporations to finance political candidates following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010. Milkis said this turned campaign finance into a “wild west kind of frontier."

"If you have one donor," he added, "they can keep you in the game for the long run.”

The 2016 election also allows the Republican party to take advantage of a White House with no incumbent.

Jim Lengle, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University, told ABC News that “the party that controls the White House for two consecutive terms nearly always loses,” in the next election, “so anyone in the Republican party with presidential aspirations sees 2016 as a great opportunity to win,” provided history repeats itself.

iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- For weeks, President Obama has had the ear of Democrats on the Iran nuclear agreement, meeting with members one-on-one and dispatching his advisers to hearings and briefings on Capitol Hill.

But with members leaving town until September, the administration is losing its greatest asset in the lobbying campaign: proximity.

“The recess is not good for the administration,” Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said recently after an administration briefing.

The campaign has yielded some crucial endorsements, with supporters confident the president has enough votes to sustain a veto of a resolution of disapproval.

“More and more of them have confirmed to me that they will be there to sustain the veto,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday.

But now, members will hear from constituents and outside groups arrayed on both sides of the deal.

“[The administration has] the most incredible home field advantage ever for the first two innings,” Sherman said. “For the other seven innings it’s on a neutral field.”

“There will certainly be an intensive lobbying campaign by both sides during August recess,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who has not yet announced his position.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which opposes the deal, has a massive campaign underway to sway members, including hundreds of meetings with congressional offices and plans to send activists to key districts and town hall meetings across the country.

The group’s educational wing is also sending roughly 50 members to Israel next week for its annual summer trip, where they’ll meet with Israeli political leaders. Democrats will be led by Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who has not yet decided whether to support the deal.

Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, a pro-Israel group financially supported by AIPAC, has a multi-million dollar national ad campaign underway in 35 states.

“The more that people look at this deal, the less they support it,” said spokesman Patrick Dorton. “We hope that the American public and members of Congress will look at all the fine print and details.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., an undecided, pro-Israel member who met one-on-one with President Obama Wednesday afternoon, acknowledged that it would be “difficult to be on the other side” of Israel and AIPAC.

“I’m going to try to ignore the politics, and I’m going to try and ignore my own emotions,” he said Thursday after meeting with President Obama. “I’m going to do what I think is the right thing.”

Speaking to grassroots supporters of the Iran deal Thursday, the president acknowledged that the recess would be a tougher climate to woo members.

“They start getting squishy when they feel the political heat,” he said.

While endorsements continue to trickle in — Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., who represents the family of Amir Hekmati, an American imprisoned in Iran, announced his support Thursday — some members have also come out against the deal.

Others are planning to wait until September before making a decision.

“I’m going to take advantage of that adequate review period before announcing where I am,” said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who said he’s “skeptical” of the deal.

A press release from the White House said, "These programs are a promise that if we work hard, and play by thd rules, we'll be rewarded with a basic measure of dignity, security, and the freedom to live our lives as we want."

Read the full transcript of the president's address:

Hi, everybody.

This week, there was a big birthday you might have missed. Medicare and Medicaid turned 50 years old. And that’s something worth celebrating.

If one of the best measures of a country is how it treats its more vulnerable citizens – seniors, the poor, the sick – then America has a lot to be proud of. Think about it. Before Social Security, too many seniors lived in poverty. Before Medicare, only half had some form of health insurance. Before Medicaid, parents often had no help covering the cost of care for a child with a disability.

But as Americans, we declared that our citizens deserve a basic measure of security and dignity. And today, the poverty rate for seniors is less than half of what it was fifty years ago. Every American over 65 has access to affordable health care. And today, we’re finally finishing the job – since I signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the uninsured rate for all Americans has fallen by about one-third.

These promises we made as a nation have saved millions of our own people from poverty and hardship, allowing us new freedom, new independence, and the chance to live longer, better lives. That’s something to be proud of. It’s heroic. These endeavors – these American endeavors – they didn’t just make us a better country. They reaffirmed that we are a great country.

And a great country keeps the promises it makes. Today, we’re often told that Medicare and Medicaid are in crisis. But that’s usually a political excuse to cut their funding, privatize them, or phase them out entirely – all of which would undermine their core guarantee. The truth is, these programs aren’t in crisis. Nor have they kept us from cutting our deficits by two-thirds since I took office. What is true is that every month, another 250,000 Americans turn 65 years old, and become eligible for Medicare. And we all deserve a health care system that delivers efficient, high-quality care. So to keep these programs strong, we’ll have to make smart changes over time, just like we always have.

Today, we’re actually proving that’s possible. The Affordable Care Act has already helped secure Medicare’s funding for another 13 years. The Affordable Care Act has saved more than nine million folks on Medicare 15 billion dollars on their prescription medicine. It has expanded Medicaid to help cover 12.8 million more Americans, and to help more seniors live independently. And we’re moving our health care system toward models that reward the quality of the care you receive, not the quantity of care you receive. That means healthier Americans and a healthier federal budget.

Today, these programs are so fundamental to our way of life that it’s easy to forget how hard people fought against them at the time. When FDR created Social Security, critics called it socialism. When JFK and LBJ worked to create Medicare, the cynics said it would take away our freedom. But ultimately, we came to see these programs for what they truly are – a promise that if we work hard, and play by the rules, we’ll be rewarded with a basic measure of dignity, security, and the freedom to live our lives as we want.

It’s a promise that previous generations made to us, and a promise that our generation has to keep.

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- This week's GOP Weekly Address gives an update to the people on progress being made by the new Congress.

House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) says, "Here's the bottom line: we are just getting started on solving problems to empower you, have the opportunity to pursue your own future and reach your full potential."

Read the full transcript of the Republican address:

Today I’d like to share with you some good news about the progress that Congress is making for every American.

From the start, our focus has been your priorities. So instead of top-down bureaucrats picking winners and losers, our goal is an opportunity economy built on good-paying jobs and the freedom to innovate.

And instead of the same-old outdated models in Washington, DC, we’re working on solutions that empower you to achieve a better life.

Already, we enacted the first real entitlement reform in nearly two decades. Now, seniors will have the peace of mind to count on Medicare and taxpayers will save $2.9 trillion over the long term.

We passed the first 10-year House-Senate balanced budget plan since 2001.

We enacted new tools to fight the evil of human trafficking; new resources to improve care for our veterans; and a plan to advance American trade and promote American jobs.

We ended the bulk collection of phone data, and ensured that Congress will have a say on the bad nuclear deal with Iran.

And that’s just in the last seven months. Since 2010, when you first elected a Republican majority in the House:

We cut spending by more than $2.1 trillion – the most significant spending reductions in modern history.

Super PACs — outside groups that can raise unlimited money to spend for presidential candidates — need to release their donors and total money by Friday night at midnight. Not all the reports are in, but we are already starting to learn which mega-donors are forking over big bucks, and how candidates are spending the money.

But there’s a catch: unlike the campaigns themselves, Super PACs can raise unlimited dollars, but they aren’t allowed to “officially” coordinate their strategies with the campaigns. Still, these dollars will undoubtedly benefit the candidates during the elections, particularly in terms of how many ads they can afford or how outside staff they can support.

We went digging into the details:

1. An Historic Haul

The dollars are flowing in for Jeb Bush.

The former Florida governor raked in an unprecedented $103 million through his Super PAC, called Right to Rise. This amount surpasses his competitors by far; Hillary Clinton’s Super PAC “Priorities USA Action,” raised approximately $15.6 million.

Bush also has two dozen donors who have given at least $1 million through the first half of 2015. Clinton had 7 donors who gave that amount to “Priorities USA Action.”

And how much has the group spent? Less than 1 percent, which means they have the largest stockpile in the field heading into the crowded GOP primary.

2. Big Donors, Big Dollars

It may just take one big donor for some candidates — like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. One of Cruz’s major Super PACs called Keep the Promise II has only one donor: Toby Neugebauer, a private equity firm leader, gave a whopping $10 million to the organization. It’s the largest single donation of the 2016 cycle so far.

But Cruz isn’t alone. More than 80 percent of Mike Huckabee’s $3.6 million haul came from Arkansas poultry company owner Ronald Cameron. And Wisconsin businesswoman Diane Hendricks gave $5 million to her governor, Scott Walker.

And a combined $10 million went to Rick Perry’s Super PAC from Texas businessman Kelcy Warren and Arkansas businessman Darwin Deason.

3. Going For The Gold

Some sports owners aren’t leaving it all out on the field. Instead, they’re choosing to play in the political arena.

Scott Walker’s Super PAC “Unintimidated” raked in the biggest donation from a sports-associated contributor. The Ricketts family — the owners of the Chicago Cubs baseball team — tossed $5 million dollars to the Super PAC backing the Wisconsin governor. Joe gave $100,000, his wife Marlene gave $4.9 million in contributions and their son Todd gave almost $2,500. According to Forbes, the family is worth nearly $4.5 billion.

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is just one of the many donors who gave to Jeb Bush’s Right to Rise, fishing out $100,000 in contributions for the former Florida governor. Snyder donated to Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012 and John McCain’s campaign in 2008. Other sports team owners to give to Bush’s Super PAC — Texas Rangers owner Ray Davis ($100,000), Houston Texans owner Robert “Bob” McNair ($500,000), and New York Jets owner Robert “Woody” Johnson ($501,604.27).

Marco Rubio’s Super PAC Conservative Solutions received quite the hefty donation from someone with the last name “Trump.” No, not his opponent. Records show Jules Trump, the chairman of the Trump Group, gave $25,000 to the Super PAC. The Trump group, according to its website, is a family-owned investment group established more than 40 years ago. And while Mr. Trump may share the same name and — similar business as the GOP candidate — the similarities end there. When the Real Deal contacted Mr. Trump to profile him, he responded “We’re very boring. We’re very different from Mr. Trump. He’s much more interesting. Go write about him.”

That same article also reveals that Donald Trump sued Jules and his brother Eddy to stop them from using their last name. He ultimately prevailed — the brothers had to relinquish their trademark but could still use the name.

Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Hillary Clinton paid roughly $57 million in federal and state taxes over the last eight years based on a statement just released by the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign.The statement does not say how much Clinton earned each year.

According to the returns, Bill and Hillary Clinton made an income of $140,937,785 over the past years.

During that period, Clinton paid roughly $43 million in federal taxes and roughly $13 million in state taxes. She made roughly $15 million in charitable donations.

The amount Clinton paid in taxes stands in stark contrast to a remark Clinton made last year when she told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer that she and her husband, Bill Clinton, were “dead broke” when they left the White House.

Clinton, who made most of her income after leaving the State Department by giving paid speeches averaging $250k a pop, later said that she regretted making that statement, although insisted it was accurate.

In her statement released Friday night, she reiterated that sentiment.

“We’ve come a long way from my days going door-to-door for the Children’s Defense Fund and earning $16,450 as a young law professor in Arkansas — and we owe it to the opportunities America provides,” Clinton said in the statement. “I want more Americans to have the chance to work hard and get ahead, just like we did. And reforming the tax code can help. We should be guided by some simple principles.”

Robin Marchant/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Presidential candidate Donald Trump wants a prominent chef to pay $10 million in damages after the food star bailed on plans to open a new restaurant inside Trump’s latest project in the nation’s capital.

Last year the group began $200 million in renovations on the historic Old Post Office Pavilion in downtown Washington. And within months, chef Jose Andres announced he would be opening a new restaurant inside the new Trump International Hotel.

At the time, Andres issued a press release saying he has “long respected Donald Trump for his business acumen” and was “proud to partner with him,” the lawsuit recounts.

But after Trump made controversial remarks in June suggesting illegal immigrants from Mexico are criminals and “rapists,” Andres backed out. Since then, the two sides have been in a contentious, behind-the-scenes back-and-forth, according to the lawsuit.

“Mr. Andres’ offense is curious in light of the fact that Mr. Trump’s publicly shared views on immigration have remained consistent for many years, and Mr. Trump’s willingness to frankly share his opinions is widely known,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit says the two sides entered into a 10-year agreement for Andres “to operate a … flagship restaurant” in a 9,018 square-foot space, and Andres “was obligated to use and occupy the [space] as a first class, high quality, flagship, top-tier Washington, D.C. restaurant.”

An email seeking comment from a representative for Andres late Friday was not immediately returned.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The State Department released a third batch of highly sought after emails from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's controversial private email account Friday.

Posted on the State Department's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) website, the collection includes just over 1,300 emails all dated in 2009.

One email sent to Secretary Clinton in November of 2009 shows how then-Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill described Iraqis as "a collective pain in the neck." He also said, "I truly remain worried about people."

In late May, the State Department released nearly 300 of her emails in response to a House committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi terror attack, and in late June it published 2,000 additional emails, the start of a slow process to make all 55,000 pages of her emails public.

Last week, an internal investigator for the U.S. Intelligence Community asked the FBI to investigate Clinton's private account and said it found at least four clear examples of messages that contained classified information, claiming there could potentially be hundreds more.

Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has said she never handled classified material on her private account and that she wants the State Department to make all the emails she turned over public as quickly as possible.

A federal judge presiding over a FOIA case brought by media outlets seeking Hillary Clinton’s 55,000 pages of emails ordered the State Department in May to release her emails in monthly tranches and to post all of the documents eligible for release on the department’s website by Jan. 29, 2016.

The State Department has since established a full-time staff, with one project manager, two case analysts, nine FOIA reviewers and a slew of additional information analysts who have been working since April to complete the task.

The 55,000 pages encompass more than 30,000 emails from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email account, spanning from 2009 to 2013.

Lisa Lake/Getty Images for Massachusetts Conference for Women(NEW YORK) -- Hillary Clinton’s doctor says she has no lasting effects from a concussion she suffered while serving as secretary of state in 2012, backing up statements that she has made in the years since the incident.

A statement released on Friday by Clinton’s doctor detailing her current and past health record says the Democratic presidential candidate had follow-up testing from the injury that revealed a "complete resolution of the effects of the concussion.”

As a “precaution,” however, Clinton has continued to take a daily blood thinner, according to a letter from Clinton's doctor, Lisa Bardack, an internist and the Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the Mount Kisco Medical Group in Mount Kisco, New York.

Ill and dehydrated while suffering from a stomach virus in December 2012, Clinton fainted and fell at her home, sustaining a concussion, her spokesman and doctors announced at the time. After a follow-up exam revealed a blood clot in her head, requiring blood thinners and another hospital stay, Clinton returned work Jan. 7, 2013.

Last year, Clinton told ABC News’ Diane Sawyer has not experienced any sustained after-effects from the concussion.